Individual Faces Were Not Discarded During Extracting Mean Emotion Representations

Individuals can perceive the mean emotion or mean identity of a group of faces. It has been considered that individual representations are discarded when extracting a mean representation; for example, the “element-independent assumption” asserts that the extraction of a mean representation does not depend on recognizing or remembering individual items. The “element-dependent assumption” proposes that the extraction of a mean representation is closely connected to the processing of individual items. The processing mechanism of mean representations and individual representations remains unclear. The present study used a classic member-identification paradigm and manipulated the exposure time and set size to investigate the effect of attentional resources allocated to individual faces on the processing of both the mean emotion representation and individual representations in a set and the relationship between the two types of representations. The results showed that while the precision of individual representations was affected by attentional resources, the precision of the mean emotion representation did not change with it. Our results indicate that two different pathways may exist for extracting a mean emotion representation and individual representations and that the extraction of a mean emotion representation may have higher priority. Moreover, we found that individual faces in a group could be processed to a certain extent even under extremely short exposure time and that the precision of individual representations was relatively poor but individual representations were not discarded.

Optically Rewritable Liquid Crystal Displays: Characteristics and Performance

Recent achievements in the photoalignment technique for fabrication of optically rewritable electronic paper with high performance characteristics are surveyed with emphasis on temporal constraints on the exposure process. The possibility of creating electrode-free electronic paper has very important practical aspects. However, many existing studies do not include sufficient analysis on how to achieve acceptable reflective characteristics within short exposure time. In order to achieve this goal, we have applied the rotational diffusion model. We find that the parameters of the diffusion model can be adjusted to get acceptable light-reflecting characteristics within 10 s of exposure. In comparison with the long-time exposure, the reflectance coefficient reduces by 24%. The route to material improvements for optimized e-paper device is discussed.

Anticancer Drugs for Intra-Arterial Treatment of Colorectal Cancer Liver Metastases: In-Vitro Screening after Short Exposure Time

To treat colorectal liver metastases, intra-arterial chemotherapies may complete therapeutic arsenal. Drugs using intra-arterially are very heterogeneous. The aim of this study was to select the most efficient drug on a panel of colorectal cancer (CRC) cell lines (Caco-2, HCT 116, HT 29, SW 48, SW 480, SW 620) exposed for 30 min to 12 cytotoxic agents (doxorubicin, epirubicin, idarubicin, 5-FU, raltitrexed, gemcitabine, cisplatin, oxaliplatin, mitomycin C, irinotecan, streptozocin, paclitaxel) at different concentrations. The effect on cell viability was measured using the WST-1 cell viability assay. For each drug and cell line, the IC50 and IC90 were calculated, which respectively correspond to the drug concentration (mg/mL) required to obtain 50% and 90% of cell death. We also quantified the cytotoxic index (CyI90 = C Max/IC90) to compare drug efficacy. The main findings of this study are that idarubicin emerged as the most cytotoxic agent to most of the tested CRC cell lines (Caco-2, HT29, HCT116, SW620 and SW480). Gemcitabine seemed to be the most efficient chemotherapy for SW48. Interestingly, the most commonly used cytotoxic agents in the systemic and intra-arterial treatment of colorectal liver metastasis (CRLM) (oxaliplatin, 5-FU, irinotecan) showed very limited cytotoxicity to all the cell lines.

Detailed procedure for outdoor measurement of raindrop size distribution using photogrammetry

Kinetic energy and corresponding erosive force of rainfall are strongly influenced by raindrop. The present paper aims to explore the raindrop size variation during rainfall events with different intensities in northern Iran by applying the processes of camera-taken photographs. Five rainfall intensities of 1 to 10 mm h–1 that occur frequently in the study area were analyzed. A camera with a very short exposure time was used to record the distribution of raindrops size. The raindrops diameters of the rain events ranged from <0.2 to 5.1 mm while the majority of them were between 1 and 2 mm. The results also showed that the variation of rainfall intensity significantly influenced (P< 0.05) raindrops size. Image processing was proven as an accurate technique of translation between the human visual system and digital imaging devices. The findings of the study can be practically utilized by researchers who work in the field of soil erosion and meteorology.

Prospects on the nano-plastic particles internalization and induction of cellular response in human keratinocytes

Background Today, cosmetic usage has become customary in both men and women towards improving their appearance and increase societal visibility. In this study, the nano-sized (30 to 300 nm) plastic particles were isolated from the commercial face-scrubs and treated on the human keratinocytes. Results The adherence studies of polyethylene nano-plastics (PENPs), polystyrene NPs (PSNPs), and face-scrubs isolated nano-plastics (NPs) on the keratin layer revealed a rapid attachment of NPs on the skin from the cosmetics that have short exposure time. This attachment property could facilitate further adherence of protein molecules on NPs and the protein-corona formation. The protein-corona mimics protein aggregates, thereby triggers the macropinocytosis followed by the macropinolysosomal process in the cell. Then the internalized NPs induced the concentration-dependent cytotoxic, cytostatic and cytoprotective activity in keratinocytes. Both single dose and chronic long-term exposure of lethal and sub-lethal concentrations of NPs resulted in the oxidative stress-mediated down-regulation of cell growth and proliferation inhibition. Autophagy and premature aging were also observed in the NPs internalized HaCaT cells incubated in a fresh, NPs-free medium. Conclusion At the outset, this work provides insight into the NPs concentration-dependent regulatory, cytoprotective, and cytotoxic effects in HaCaT cells. Further studies are required to identify the detailed mechanisms of NPs toxicity and cytoprotective events in cells at the molecular level.

Transcriptomic Analysis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Response to Pine Honey via RNA Sequencing Indicates Multiple Mechanisms of Antibacterial Activity

Pine honey is a unique type of honeydew honey produced exclusively in Eastern Mediterranean countries like Greece and Turkey. Although the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of pine honey are well documented, few studies have investigated so far its antibacterial activity. This study investigates the antibacterial effects of pine honey against P. aeruginosa PA14 at the molecular level using a global transcriptome approach via RNA-sequencing. Pine honey treatment was applied at sub-inhibitory concentration and short exposure time (0.5× of minimum inhibitory concentration –MIC- for 45 min). Pine honey induced the differential expression (>two-fold change and p ≤ 0.05) of 463 genes, with 274 of them being down-regulated and 189 being up-regulated. Gene ontology (GO) analysis revealed that pine honey affected a wide range of biological processes (BP). The most affected down-regulated BP GO terms were oxidation-reduction process, transmembrane transport, proteolysis, signal transduction, biosynthetic process, phenazine biosynthetic process, bacterial chemotaxis, and antibiotic biosynthetic process. The up-regulated BP terms, affected by pine honey treatment, were those related to the regulation of DNA-templated transcription, siderophore transport, and phosphorylation. Pathway analysis revealed that pine honey treatment significantly affected two-component regulatory systems, ABC transporter systems, quorum sensing, bacterial chemotaxis, biofilm formation and SOS response. These data collectively indicate that multiple mechanisms of action are implicated in antibacterial activity exerted by pine honey against P. aeruginosa.

In Vitro Antischistosomal Activity of the Argemone mexicana Methanolic Extract and Its Main Component Berberine

Background: Schistosomiasis has been identified as a major public health problem in tropical countries. The present study aimed to investigate the schistosomicidal effects of the methanolic extract of Argemone mexicana L. and its active component, berberine against Schistosoma mansoni on in-vitro experiments. Methods: S. mansoni adults were used. Various concentrations of the methanolic extract (10 - 200 µg/ml) and berberine (2.5 - 50 µM) were tested from 24 to 72 h. The viability of S. mansoni was confirmed with an invertoscope-microscope. Furthermore, cytotoxic (Hemolysis test), and antioxidant (DPPH radical scavenging assay) capacities were determined. Results: The viability tests on S. mansoni showed that A. mexicana at 50 μg/mL is lethal at 48 h and berberine at 10 μM is lethal at 24 h. The hemolytic activity at 1,000 μg/mL was 2.9% for A. mexicana and 90.2% for berberine. The antioxidant capacities shown by A. mexicana and berberine, were EC50 156.3 and 84.1 μg/mL, respectively. Conclusion: The extract of A. mexicana and berberine demonstrated high antischistosomal activities in low concentration and short exposure time on the in-vitro model.

Corrosion resistance of steel for coiled tubing units

The gravimetric method was used to determine the corrosion rate of a pipe for coiled tubing. Scanning electron and optical microscopy were used to study the microstructure and to determine the nature of corrosion damages. It has been found that corrosion processes of different nature occurred in the studied systems “metal – environment”, in particular, in acid solutions, corrosion was caused by the of hydrochloric acid and the ambient temperature of 70°С. In solution with a smaller acid content, along with the general corrosion, there is a significant localization of the corrosion process (deep corrosion damage is formed: macro pitting and corrosion ulcers). The general corrosion was observed in the HCl solution (13 mass %), which destroys the pipe walls after 576 h of exposure. The neutral solutions caused the general corrosion of smaller intensity in comparison with the acidic environments, even taking into account the temperature factor. The surface-active substances or petroleum products that are present in the solutions, form barrier films on the steel surface, which prevent the access of corrosive components from the environment to the surface of the material, especially during the short exposure time. With the increase of the exposure at the elevated temperatures, the barrier films break down and the steel surface undergoes the general corrosion.

Police Officer Interactions with In-vehicle Technologies: An On-Road Investigation

Police motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of officers’ fatalities in line of duty. These crashes have been attributed not only to driving at high speed in emergency situations but more importantly to interaction with different in-vehicle technologies. Prior studies in this domain have been limited to specific equipment and short exposure time and were typically conducted in laboratory settings with simulated environment or tasks which limit their generalizability to actual police operations. The objective of this study was to identify the most frequently used and cognitively demanding in-vehicle technologies for police officers while driving. Ten officers participated in a three-hour ride-along study. Findings suggested that the mobile computer terminal is the most frequently used and visually and cognitively demanding in-vehicle technology for police officers. Other factors such as work shift, duration, and average time spent in the vehicle per shift can also affect workload. The results indicated the need for improvements in in-vehicle technology design and implementation, officer training protocols, and departmental policies in order to reduce officers’ mental workload and improve safety in police operations.